Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born 1 September 1986)[1] is a Kenyan-Norwegian singer, rapper, and songwriter.[2] Her work has been used in films such as American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, and also in TV-series such as CSI: NY, Scrubs and Survival of The Thickest.[3] In Norway, she won the Melodi Grand Prix 2011, and in that same year represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Stella Mwangi | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Stella Mwangi at a video shoot in Nairobi, June 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stella Nyambura Mwangi |
| Also known as | Stella, STL |
| Born | 1 September 1986 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Origin | Eidsvoll, Norway |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Labels | |
| Website | stellamwangi |
Early and personal life
editStella was born in Murang'a in the Central Province of Kenya in 1986 and spent her first 5 years there before her family moved to Eidsvoll in Norway in 1991.[4] She started to practice playing music when she was eight years old. She also plays the piano. Her father made sure she and her siblings learned the Gikuyu language and Swahili even far away from home. He used cultural music and poetry to teach them the languages and this inspired Stella's music and her connection to the Kenyan culture.[5]
Mwangi's father was killed in a hit-and-run accident in February 2012.[6]
Eurovision Song Contest 2011
editIn 2011, Mwangi participated in the Norwegian national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2011 to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. On 12 February 2011, Mwangi emerged as the winner.
On 10 May, she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Haba Haba"[7] but failed to qualify for the Eurovision final, despite being one of the big favourites of the contest.[8]
Mwangi first topped the official singles chart in Norway in week 6, 2011 with her winning song "Haba Haba".[9]
Melodi Grand Prix 2018
editStella competed in the Melodi Grand Prix for the chance to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 along with Alexandra Rotan with the song You Got Me. They placed third overall.
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Album title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [10] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Living for Music |
| — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kinanda |
| 15 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Eyes Off Me |
| — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Icon |
| — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Stella Mwangi |
|
| No Games |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [10] | ZAF [11] | |||
| "Take It Back" | 2007 | — | — | Living for Music |
| "The Dreamer" | 2008 | — | — | |
| "Makelele Remix" | — | — | ||
| "Smile" | 2010 | — | — | |
| "Haba Haba" | 2011 | 1 | 4 | Kinanda |
| "Lookie Lookie" | — | — | ||
| "Take My Time" (featuring Mohombi) | — | — | ||
| "Hula Hoop" | — | — | ||
| "Bad As I Wanna Be" | 2012 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Shut It Down" | 2013 | — | — | |
| "Stella Stella Stella" | 2014 | — | — | |
| "Koolio" | — | — | ||
| "Biashara" (featuring Kristoff and Khaligraph Jones) | — | — | ||
| "Chukua Hatua" | 2015 | — | — | |
| "Obe Baba" (featuring Raj Okemwa) | — | — | ||
| "Identifyourself" | 2016 | — | — | |
| "Big Girl" | — | — | Stella Mwangi | |
| "Ready to Pop" | 2017 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Kuchizi" | — | — | ||
| "Not Your Ordinary" | 2018 | — | — | No Games |
| "You Got Me" (with Alexandra Rotan) | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "10 Toes" | — | — | ||
| "F.I.L." (with Alexandra Rotan) | — | — | ||
| "Repeat" | — | — | No Games | |
| "So What" | 2019 | — | — | |
| "Number 1" (with Victoria Kimani) | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Ma Itù" | — | — | ||
| "In the Spot" (with JS16) | 2020 | — | — | |
| "Long Way Coming" (with Aaron Salovaara) | — | — | ||
| "Eyes Off Me" | 2021 | — | — | Eyes Off Me |
| "Watch" (with Valorant) | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Naughty" | — | — | Eyes Off Me | |
| "Icon" | 2022 | — | — | Icon |
| "I Do What I Want" | — | — | ||
| "Talk That Talk" | 2024 | — | — | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | ||||
References
editExternal links
edit